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Wizz Air registers strong Pristina growth

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Low cost carrier Wizz Air has recorded strong passenger growth on its flights to and from Pristina in 2018. The airline welcomed 100.000 travellers on board its flights, up 155% on 2017. Wizz entered the Kosovan market in April 2017 with services from Budapest and London Luton. This was followed with the addition of flights from Memmingen, Basel and Dortmund during the fourth quarter of last year. The airline has now positioned itself as the tenth busiest at Pristina Airport. It performed better than a number of other carriers which have long-established links to Pristina including Austrian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Swiss International Air Lines.

Commenting on its operations in Pristina, Wizz Air's CEO, Jozsef Varadi, recently told EX-YU Aviation News, "I think we are still trying to learn the [Kosovo] market. We have a limited presence in Pristina". Asked whether the airline could base an aircraft in Pristina, the CEO said, "Not at the moment. Maybe at a later stage but at this point in time, no". Germania, which will base an aircraft in the city next month remains Kosovo's busiest airline. It is followed by easyJet, Edelweiss Air, Orange2Fly and Turkish Airlines. Adria Airways, which operates a handful of routes from the city saw its figures decrease when compared to the year before.

Busiest airlines at Pristina Airport in 2018

Airline

PAX

Change (%)

Germania

321.499

▲ 9.1

easyJet

241.809

▼ 5.5

Edelweiss

240.200

▲ 13.4

Orange2Fly

200.278

▲ 280.8

Turkish Airlines

179.218

▲ 24.4

Eurowings

163.982.

▲ 24.3

Adria Airways

157.931

▼ 10.9

Meanwhile, Pristina Airport started the new year off on a strong note. It welcomed a record 168.777 passengers through its doors in January, representing an increase of 17.1% on the same month last year. The number of aircraft operations stood at 1.321, up 17.8%. "There is interest from various airlines to launch flights from different countries to Pristina. We intend on supporting these carriers in order for them to introduce new destinations and provide a greater choice to passengers", Pristina Airport's Scheduling Manager, Driton Hyseni, said.

Macedonia and Skopje are becoming really popular tourist destinations, Kosovo isn't. PRN will always be a gasto destination while SKP sees a mix of gasto, business, tourism... That's why airlines do well in SKP while easyJet, Adria... fail and airlines such as Orange2Fly and Wizz thrive.

Anon 10.26. I don't agree with you. Kosovo has a great touristic potential: the world tourism market is searching for new destination. The area is touristically undiscovered this is attractive for many visitors. Backpackers e.g. loving it already, groups there for cultural,religious tourism too.

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